Race Weekend Central

2-Headed Monster: The Best NASCAR Cup Team At Midseason – Penske Or Gibbs?

2016 Pocono I Cup Pack Racing Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

Five months into the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series tour, the top teams have begun to make their presence known. Stewart-Haas Racing has proven to be incredibly consistent and strong. Hendrick Motorsports, while off, has shown bursts of speed at times with its best teams. Furniture Row Racing has proven to be the little team that could …

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Comebacks, Stories Lie in Waiting Beneath Simon Pagenaud’s Dominant Run

2016 Ics Iowa Podium Newgarden Power Dixon Photo Chris Jones Indyca

(Photo: Chris Jones/IndyCar)

Simon Pagenaud‘s incredible start to the 2016 season has led to a tremendous lead in the points standings, but lurking just behind the Frenchman are two improbably comeback stories waiting to emerge from the shadows. On the heels of one of the most dominant drives in Verizon IndyCar Series history, Josef Newgarden surpassed Scott Dixon …

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Luca Fillippi Back with Dale Coyne Racing in Toronto

2016 Ics Long Beach Luca Fillippi Photo Chris Jones/indycar

(Photo: Chris Jones/IndyCar)

Dale Coyne Racing will return to the driver lineup they used to start the season in Toronto as Luca Fillippi replaces Gabby Chaves in the team’s No. 19 Honda. Fillippi will join Conor Daly, reuniting the duo that started the first four races of the year for DCR. The announcement will also allow Fillippi, 30, …

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The 10: Slippin’ & Slidin’ on a Wild Kentucky Night

2016 Kentucky Cup Kyle Busch Pack Racing Russell Labounty Nkp

(Photo: Russell LaBounty/NKP)

Saturday’s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway could best be described as a war of attrition. From an unpredictable racing surface to a trial run with the low-low downforce package, there we more variable for teams to account for than at any race on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series tour. Throw in a hard compound …

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Andretti Autosport Struggles in Search for Seventh Iowa Victory

2016 Ics Iowa Marco Andretti Photo Chris Jones Indycar

(Photo: Chris Jones/IndyCar)

Returning to a track they’d conquered six-consecutive times, hopes were high for the struggling Andretti Autosport to score their second victory of 2016 at Iowa Speedway. However, Andretti’s drivers were left scratching their heads after a weekend of ineptitude at their top track. The organization’s struggles began on Saturday, when all four Andretti drivers failed …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Brad Keslowski Survives War of Attrition, Stretches Fuel for Kentucky Triumph

2016 Kentucky Cup Brad Keselowski Finger Logan Whitton Nkp

(Photo: Logan Whitton/NKP)

Who’s in the headline – With ‘Commander’ Kerry Tharp working his final race before leaving NASCAR to become Darlington Speedway’s track president, Brad Keselowski asked him during a Friday press conference if it would be their last together. Tharp’s reply? “Thats up to you. Win the race and you’ll get another one.” Keselowski did just that, stretching …

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Too Many Pieces in the Puzzle Make Kentucky Difficult to Learn From

2016 Nscs Kentucky Matt Kenseth Leads Group Photo Nascar Via Getty Images

(Photo: Matt Hazlett/Getty Images)

A few years ago, I received a special puzzle that when put together formed a picture from my favorite Christmas movie – A Christmas Story – as part of a family holiday party. Excited and looking for a way to relax, I started putting the puzzle together on Christmas day only to discover that, much to my chagrin, there …

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Josef Newgarden Dusts the Field for Iowa Corn 300 Win

2016 Ics Josef Newgarden Win Iowa Speedway Photo Chris Jones Indycar

(Photo: Chris Jones/IndyCar)

Competing in his first oval race since suffering a broken collarbone and wrist at Texas Motor Speedway, Josef Newgarden beat down the field to claim a dominant win in Sunday’s Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway. Newgarden, 25, improved from two-straight runner-up performances at the Newton, Iowa, circuit by leading a race record 282 out …

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Ryan Hunter-Reay’s Bid for Three-Straight Iowa Wins Burns Out Early

2016 Ics Ryan Hunter Reay Iowa Photo Chris Jones Indycar

(Photo: Chris Jones/IndyCar)

Ryan Hunter-Reay‘s hope for a third-straight victory at Iowa Speedway has gone up in smoke. After starting 20th, Hunter-Reay was maneuvering his No. 28 DHL Andretti Autosport Honda-Dallara around the .875-mile oval on lap 110 when his machine began smoking heavily from an apparent mechanical failure. The incident prompted the Iowa Corn 300’s first yellow …

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Kurt Busch Rises from the Back, Stretches Fuel For Top-Five

2016 Nscs Kentucky Kurt Busch Kevin Harvick Photo Nascar Via Getty Images

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

Running with a backup car and starting at the rear of the field after crashing in final practice, Kurt Busch and his Stewart-Haas Racing team had every excuse to run poorly in a race defined by track position at Kentucky Speedway. However, as they’ve done excellently for the last two years, Busch’s team fought through the adversity …

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Opinions Split After Wild-Card Kentucky Race

2016 Nscs Kentucky Speedway Green Flag Kevin Harvick Photo Nascar

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

Opinions were split amongst the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series paddock after a difficult Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway. With myriad changes compared to last season’s race in Sparta, Kentucky, Saturday’s 400-mile war of attrition was impossible to predict. A newly-repaved 1.5-mile surface saw the formerly bumpy track turn smooth, while retaining a few the …

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Pit Road Penalty Spoils Promising Night For Martin Truex, Jr.

2016 Pocono I Cup Martin Truex Jr Cole Pearn Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

Martin Truex, Jr., has lost races in a wide range of ways over the last two seasons. Yet somehow the three-time Sprint Cup Series winner found yet another way to lose in Saturday’s Quaker State 400. After trading the lead with Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski throughout the night, Truex found himself in second coming to …

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